


The Two Who Didn't Go

by HappyHealthyNerdy



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Crook tries to rob Artemis, Eating pizza in fancy clothes, F/M, Insecure Artemis, Insecure Wally, They're in love (but they won't admit it!), first date (sort of)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 08:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12677829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappyHealthyNerdy/pseuds/HappyHealthyNerdy
Summary: It's Homecoming night and neither Wally nor Artemis have dates. Pizza and dancing start to make them realize how they feel about each-other.





	The Two Who Didn't Go

Artemis sat in the silence of the cave, a dress laying on the table in front of her. She didn’t know why she had bought it, she had known she wasn’t going to homecoming for months. However, the moment she saw the dress she couldn’t help herself, she had to buy it. The dress was a dark green, strapless, with a tight top and went down into ruffles that ended at her knees and created an elegant dress that she hadn’t been able to resist.

Next to the dress was a silver necklace, one that her mother had lent her for homecoming. Next to the necklace was the black heels she had planned to wear. Artemis sighed and leaned back against the couch. She should have just told her mom she wasn’t going to homecoming. Artemis didn’t even know why she lied. Sure her mom would have been disappointed she wasn’t going, but it wouldn’t have killed her.

Besides, it wasn’t like Artemis didn’t want to go. Being new to Gotham Academy wasn’t easy. She hadn’t made many friends yet, in fact the people she had met she could barely call friends. She sat with some girls at lunch, and talked to some people in her other classes but they all had their own lives. They all already had plans for homecoming, and how could she ask to go along? They had only know her for a few weeks, there was no chance she could ask without being rude.

She knew the front she showed to the team was badass and uncaring of what others thought,   
and she was that way to an extent. However, Artemis was smart enough to know that, that attitude wasn’t a good way to make friends. If she wanted these classmates to be her friends she needed them to like her, and barging in on their homecoming plans would ensure they didn’t.

She would have gone out with her friends from her old school, or even someone on the team, but it seemed everyone had homecoming tonight. So she was alone on the day that everyone else was out having fun.

Part of Artemis couldn’t even understand why she was so upset. It was homecoming, not Prom, or something else important. When she thought hard about it, she had an inkling of why she might be upset. Having someone to go to homecoming, or any sort of party with, proved belonging. It showed to the world you had friends, that you have someone who likes you enough to do things with you. Artemis would have been perfectly happy going with a group of people, because that would mean she had friends to go with. Not having a date and not having a group to go with proved that she was alone.

On a regular school day she could deal with not having any close friends. She could talk to the group of girls during lunch, and the other random people during the day, then go home and do homework. In that regular day she didn’t have to think about the fact, that outside of class, these people probably didn’t think of her, and wouldn’t invite her to hang out. She wasn’t their friend. She was a school acquaintance, the new kid, the lone girl out.

Artemis jumped when she heard the computer call out the arrival of Kid Flash. She was surprised he didn’t immediately head to the kitchen, and instead walked towards the room he used when he stayed the night. When he saw her he froze, and there was a moment of silence as they stared at each-other. She noticed he was holding a suit in his arms, and wondered why.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

Wally shifted his weight nervously, “Oh you know, just hanging this in my room,”

“A suit?”

He faltered, and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah,” and her glare he groaned then continued, “My parents think I’m at homecoming.” At this point he noticed the dress, “What about you?”

“Same,”

“Oh,”

There was a moment of awkward silence before Artemis asked, “So why didn’t you go?” She didn’t need to clarify.

“I didn’t have anyone to go with,”

“Would’ve thought a stud like you could have gotten any girl you set your sights on,” Artemis stated sarcastically.

Wally snapped, “No, I can’t! Everyone, including my parents, think I’m a looser!” Artemis sat in stunned silence as what Wally said seemed to catch up to him. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, “Look, I’m sorry. It’s been a rough night.”

“Yeah,” 

There was another moment of awkward silence before Wally spoke, “So why didn’t you go?”

“Same reason, no one to go with,” Artemis said softly. 

In the silence that followed Wally seemed to get an idea, “It’s a pretty dress, seems a shame not to wear it.”

“Where would I wear it?” Artemis asked angrily.

Wally hesitated, “Well, there’s this place in Gotham that has really good pizza?”

“Pizza?”

“Better than staying here alone.” He pointed out.

“Are you asking me on a date, Baywatch?”

Wally protested, “No. No. Pizza. In fancy clothes.” Seeing she was still hesitant he added, “I’ll wear my suit if you wear your dress?”

“This pizza better be fantastic. And you’re paying Baywatch.”

Wally grinned, “I’ll meet you back here in a minute,”

Artemis smiled as he sped off and she grabbed her dress, shoes, and necklace and went to get dressed. She dressed quickly, knowing that Wally would only take a minute. Once dressed she threw her hair into her usual ponytail, but did take the time to apply makeup. She might as well, and besides, the hair made it seem like she wasn’t trying.

When she finally appeared back in the main room Wally was waiting, fiddling nervously with his sleeve. He looked up when she walked in and his mouth dropped open.

“You…you look great.”

“Thanks,”

There was silence before he spoke, “This isn’t a date! But my dad always told me I have to get a girl a corsage at homecoming. I don’t have one, but would this do?” He held out a bright red ribbon with a pin that looked like the Flash lightning bolt. 

“Really?”

He backtracked, “If you don’t want it-“

She thrust out her wrist, “Just put it on Baywatch.”

Wally tied the ribbon into a clumsy bow on her wrist, then pinned the pin in the knot. It didn’t look half bad, even though it clashed with her dress. 

 

As she examined the ribbon she asked, “Now what?”

“Well,” He grinned, “Since we aren’t going as supers, I thought we could borrow one of the motorcycles and ride to Gotham.”

“Long ride,”

“So?”

Artemis shrugged and they walked to the garage. Wally bypassed the usual bikes and went to the sleek black motorcycle in the back.

“This one should make good time,”

Artemis stared at him, “This is Batman’s motorcycle.”

Wally shrugged nervously, “Rob can protect me,” At Artemis’s raised eyebrow he amended, “Or at least convince him not to murder me.”

Artemis snorted, “Never thought you had it in ya Baywatch.” She said as got on the bike behind Wally, putting a helmet on.

He grinned, “I’m full of surprises.” With that, they took off. Artemis’s breath caught as she realized just how fast the bike was. No wonder Wally wanted to use it. 

They didn’t talk during the ride, both just enjoying the ride and not being alone for the night. 

As they rode Artemis couldn’t help but notice the hard muscles underneath her arms. She knew Wally was ripped, she could plainly see it thought his costume, but it was different to feel it. She knew she would have had to be blind not to notice how attractive he was in his suit, and even as she was unable to see his face, she couldn’t deny how attractive he was. The ride took much less time than she expected and it wasn’t long before they were pulling into Gotham. 

“Will Bat’s be mad we’re in his territory?” Artemis asked, knowing the headset in the helmet would allow Wally to hear her clearly.

“What Bat’s doesn’t know won’t hurt me,”

She grinned, but asked, “And if he finds us on his bike?”

“We run and beg for mercy,”

Artemis snorted and was unsurprised when they pulled into a parking lot a few minutes later. The restaurant was small, and there didn’t appear to be anyone inside.

“You better not have taken me to a closed restaurant,” Artemis stated.

Wally rolled his eyes, “Trust me. I come here all the time.”

They waked inside and a small bell announced their arrival. Seconds later a large man ran forwards enveloping Wally into a hug.

“My favorite costumer! I didn’t expect to see you here so late,”

Wally laughed, “Last minute plans. Got any pizza for us?”

“For you, all of them.” The man looked at Artemis and then glanced at Wally, “and since you brought a date, it’s on the house.”

Wally tried to protest but the man wouldn’t accept it. The man led them to a table and left, still refusing to let Wally pay.

“Not a date?”

“Shut it Artemis,”

The rest of dinner went extremely well. Wally broke the ice with his many entertaining stories of failing experiments, blunders with driving, and general clumsiness. After that he managed to get Artemis to talk about her home life, even though she never really gave any concrete details. When the food arrived, Artemis had to agree that it was delicious, there was temporary silence to eat but as soon as the food was gone they were talking again.

When they were out of the restaurant Wally led her back to the bike and when once they were both on, started to drive. It took Artemis seconds to realize they weren’t heading out of Gotham.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“I know a place with some good music, I think you’ll like it.” Wally stated, and Artemis nodded against his back. 

It was a short ride, but when they stopped they were right across from Gotham Academy. Artemis tensed, but Wally either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it. He helped her off the bike, and although she didn’t need it she admitted the gesture was nice, and led her to the street corner. There a man with a guitar, and a girl with a small drum played music.

She raised her eyebrows and Wally explained, “They’re the most popular musicians in Gotham. When people realize they’re here, this place will be packed.”

“How did you know where they were?” Artemis asked, but Wally just grinned. 

The two musicians began a new song and Wally pulled her under the streetlight, “Let’s dance!”

She yanked her hand out of his, “What?!”

“Dance. You know, move your body to a rhythm?”

“I know what dancing is you idiot!” She growled, “Why?”

Wally shrugged, “Why not?”

With that he began to dance, apparently not caring that she wasn’t joining him. He wasn’t a good dancer, but what he lacked in talent he made up for in enthusiasm. She found herself grinning, and after a few moments of internal debate, dancing with him. At first she was worried about someone from the school seeing her, but eventually found she didn’t care anymore. So what if they saw? She was having a good time with a smoking hot guy!...not that she’d ever tell him, or anyone, that.

They continued to dance and just as Wally predicted, people began to show up. More people joined them on their makeshift dancefloor, and Artemis found she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. The music played was diverse and upbeat, allowing everyone to enjoy it. Everything was going extremely well until the two musicians played a slow song. Wally and Artemis stared at each other awkwardly as they tried to decide what to do.

They never got the chance. Some amateur robber decided that moment was a good time to make a grab for Artemis’s necklace. The moment she felt a hand grab her necklace, Artemis’s training kicked in. She lashed out, landing a solid hit the guy’s nose with her elbow. She blocked the clumsy punch he tried to throw and in return she used his arm as leverage to push herself over and behind him. She felt her anckle twist in an agonizing way but ignored as she forced him to his knees and pulled his arm into a painful position behind his back. 

The man cursed at her, but was unable to get away from Artemis’s grip. Artemis froze when she realized everyone was staring and tried to think of a cover story.

Wally laughed, “And this is the reason I only date black belts,” He stated smiling. The crowd laughed, and Wally winked at Artemis. 

It didn’t take the cops long to arrive, take their statements and then leave.

“Want to continue dancing?” Wally asked.

Artemis shook her head, “I twisted my ankle when I landed. How Black Canary fights in heels I will never understand.”

Wally frowned, “Are you ok?”

Artemis nodded, “It’s just painful to move on,”

She yelped as Wally pulled her into his arms, “What are you doing?!” She shouted.

Wally smiled, “I want to dance and I can’t exactly leave you on the curb.”

Wally ignored all of Artemis’s protest and made his way to the edge of the dancefloor. His dancing was more like swaying with Artemis trapped in his arms, but it was still fun. She didn’t know how long they danced for before Wally made his way back to the motorcycle. He carefully set her on it and passed her a helmet. 

He sat in front of her and just as he started the motorcycle a voice rang out over the headsets, “Put the Bat-cycle back.” Artemis and Wally both paled and Wally quickly took off.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt me,” Artemis repeated mockingly.

“Shut up, Artemis.”

The ride back to the cave was quiet and when they arrived Wally lifted Artemis off the bike and carried her to the couch. He sat her down and then ran into the kitchen. Artemis rolled her eyes but was not surprised. She was surprised when Wally came back with two giant bowls filled with ice cream and a bag of ice for her ankle.

They chatted as they ate and Artemis couldn’t believe what a great time she had had. By the time the ice-cream was finished, the bowls put away, and the chatter had died it was one in the morning.

“I should probably get home,” Artemis stated. Wally nodded and raced off, returning seconds later with a pair of crutches. 

As Artemis walked towards the Beta Tubes Wally stated, “I had a really good time tonight.”

“Same,” 

“Some guy should have asked you out. They missed out on one heck of a time.”

“I’m surprised any girl said no. You’re a major geek, but not a looser.”

They smiled at each-other before Artemis stepped into the Beta Tubes and was gone.

YJYJYJYJYJ

The next morning when they entered the cave they saw Robin sitting on the edge of the couch grinning at the newspaper. 

When he saw them his grin turned into a smirk, “You guys shouldn’t stopped and said hi. Oh and next time, disable the tracking device on the Bat-cycle,” He finished and threw the newspaper on the table as he walked away. 

On the newspaper was a picture of Wally holding Artemis in his arms as they danced. The caption read “Cinderella Stops a Crook Before Dancing with Prince Charming!”

Wally and Artemis glanced at each-other before running after Robin, trying to figure out how to keep him from telling anyone else.


End file.
